Forex: Wednesday’s review

Yesterday the dollar rose against most major traded currencies after data released showed that the level in the U.S. rose more than expected, and the number of pending home sales reached a two-year high.

The dollar strengthened against the euro and the yen, as investors' doubts that the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will hint at further easing in his speech at the conference on August 31.

The single currency has strengthened slightly after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the reforms in Italy will help reduce the interest the central bank.

The single currency has strengthened by 2.5% against the dollar since August 1, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said that the central bank can buy Spanish and Italian bonds to limit borrowing costs.

The Canadian dollar traded near a four-month high against the U.S. dollar on positive data from the U.S.. Gross domestic product grew by 1.7% between April and June, compared with the initial estimate of 1.5%. We also learned that the number of pending home sales increased in July by 2.4%, after falling 1.4% in June, and reached its highest level since April 2010. Economists had expected growth of approximately 1.0%. The index also rose by 12.4% compared to the same month last year.

The Australian dollar traded near-month low on concerns that a slowdown in global growth will impact on the economy.